Rotaract Club of Richmond Update

Posted by Rebecca MacPherson 
 
Each month we will be hearing from one of the Rotaract clubs in the District. Each club will take the opportunity to submit an article which highlights their club for the monthly District Newsletter. This month we are featuring the Rotaract Club of Richmond. This article was written by Aaron Chan, president of the Rotaract Club of Richmond
 

The Installation Dinner is an event that takes place once a year to formally induct the Board and the members of the Rotaract Club of Richmond. This year, it took place on Thursday Sept. 22 at 7:00 PM at the Holiday Inn in Richmond. The turnout was great this year as there were 14 Rotaractors and 12 Rotarians in attendance. The dinner included roast beef and a variety of meats and veggies in a buffet style followed by delicious chocolate mousse for dessert.

Afterwards, the dinner was followed up by inspiring and insightful speeches from Rotary District 5040 Governor Elect, Garry Shearer, President of the Rotary Club of Richmond, Barbara Duggan, and finally the incoming President of the Rotaract Club of Richmond this year, Aaron Chan. After the speeches, the Rotary District 5040 Governor Elect, Garry Shearer, took the place of current District Governor, Rebecca MacPherson (who could not attend) to induct the Board members one by one. All the attendees then gathered up for a group photo before ending the eventful night. Thank you to everyone who came out.

During the past year Richmond Rotaract has been involved with many Community Service projects such as the King George Park cleanup (which happens once a month), and the BYNG It On After-School program (which happens once a week). The BYNG It On project was started off by the club and several other individuals in the community and involves several members acting as mentors and tutors at the Lord Byng Elementary school to a group of students grades 5-7.

Aside from frequently helping out at events organized by local Rotary Clubs, we also partner up and help out with other organizations such as Canadian Cancer Society and the Richmond Homelessness Coalition.

In terms of International Service, we are working on an initiative called the Culture Connect, which involves connecting elementary schools in Richmond to other elementary schools internationally through Skype, email, and mail with an objective of facilitating a form of cultural exchange, which will hopefully be implemented into their curriculum in coming years.

In the coming year, our club's focus will be placed mostly on gaining membership and increasing involvement from the members. A strong emphasis will be placed on Professional Development and Fundraising this year, while continuation of most of their current Community Service projects can be expected."